The best and worst of the Mae Young Classic episode 6

Last night's episode of the Mae Young Classic was, for the most part, in good form, excelling the first round episodes easily. Though the Meiko Satomura vs. Mercedes Martinez match from last week wasn't surpassed, three of the four matches on the show delivered arguably the strongest episode of the tournament so far.

Four women advanced and the quarterfinals are now set and each match had its own unique feel, which was a nice touch. There were few negative aspects about this episode, but there was a glaring flaw nevertheless.

Let's take a look at the four matches and see the best and worst of a good episode from the Mae Young Classic.

Best: Io Shirai is intense!

Io Shirai is just as intense when she's getting beat up as she is when she's beating people up. We saw aspects of both in this match.

This wasn't a squash like the match against Xia Brookside was two weeks ago. Zeuxis took the fight to Io Shirai in a fiery match that needed to see Io work through a bad shoulder. This was a nice touch, because it will play into the upcoming quarterfinal match next week.

Nevertheless, Io's speed and strikes guaranteed her victory. When she caught second wind, she was a step ahead of her opponent. Her moonsault at the end of the match didn't look good, but she'll get used to the size of the WWE ring (it's bigger than the rings she worked in during her Stardom days) soon enough.

Io Shirai has certainly lived up to the hype that surrounded her as she made her way into this tournament. This is all just a small preview of things to come.

Michael Cole hyped up her friendship with Kairi Sane, and the yellow brand's women's title match on WrestleMania weekend should be clear.

On/off wrestling fan since 1996. A budding copywriter with political experience, I write about persuasion, influence, and masculinity at my blog http://masculineepic.com/ . Uncoincidentally, all of these things are vital in professional wrestling.